Prosecutor rejects charges in Bountiful sex abuse case

IAN BAILEY

Globe and Mail Update

August 1, 2007 at 4:50 PM EDT

Vancouver — An independent
special prosecutor has rejected the idea of criminal charges
over allegations of sexual abuse involving members of a
polygamist sect in the southeastern B.C. community of Bountiful,
and instead recommended the constitutionality of the Criminal
Code section on polygamy should be tested in the courts.

Richard Peck, asked in May to consider the issue B.C.'s criminal
justice branch, handed down his recommendations today.

He was tasked to look at issues around Bountiful, home of
members of a fundamentalist Mormon sect that practices polygamy
though it is illegal in Canada. B.C. Attorney-General Wally
Oppal has described action against polygamy in the community as
a foremost priority.

Mr. Peck called a reference to the B.C. Court of Appeal –
“with a probable further appeal to the Supreme Court of Canada”
– the “preferable approach” to an outright prosecution over
conduct in the community in southeastern B.C.

“The legality of polygamy in Canada has, for too long, been
characterized by uncertainty,” he wrote in a report, sections of
which were released to the media. “The integrity of the legal
system suffers from such an impasse and an authoritative
statement from the courts is necessary in order to resolve it.”

Mr. Peck, a Vancouver lawyer, noted that polygamy has long
been illegal in Canada, and is currently illegal under section
293 of the Criminal Code.

“However, prosecutions under this law have been exceedingly
rare.”

In 1990 and 2006, police recommended charges against
individuals in Bountiful, but the Crown ruled out the idea
because, in 1990, of fears that the polygamy ban would be struck
down by the courts as an unjustifiable infringement of religious
freedoms protected by the Charter and, in 2006, because the
available evidence left four senior Crowns assigned to review
the file with the view that there was not a substantial
likelihood of conviction.

“After an extensive study of the relevant material, I have
come to the conclusion that polygamy itself is at the root of
the problem,” writes Mr. Peck. “Polygamy is the underlying
phenomenon from which all the other alleged harms flow, and the
public interest would best be served by addressing it directly.”

Mr. Peck has agreed to go to court to act in any proceedings
that result from his recommendations.

Mr. Oppal was scheduled to respond this afternoon to Mr.
Peck's conclusions.